This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Action plan for mental health and well-being
08/09/2003
Details were announced today of a three-year action
plan for the National Programme for Improving Mental Health
and Well-Being inScotland
The Action Plan for 2003-06 will further direct
the work of the National Programme in supporting
national and local efforts to raise the profile of
mental health, support action in mental health
improvement (promotion and prevention), to address the
stigma of mental ill health and to prevent suicide in
Scotland.
The four key aims for National Programme action
during 2003-2006 are to:
* raise awareness and promoting mental health and
well-being
* eliminate stigma and discrimination
* prevent suicide
* promote and support recovery
Outlining the Action Plan, Deputy Health Minister
Tom McCabe said:
"The initial work of the Programme during 2001-2003
has focused on two key priorities eliminating stigma and
preventing suicide. Building on the progress already made,
this Action Plan published today - funded through £24
million from the Scottish Executive's Health Improvement
Fund - will support new and continuing national and
local activities vital to improving mental health
in
Scotland.
"The Plan sets out the main aims and areas of
activity for the National Programme, providing an
outline for local areas to follow. It is designed to be
further updated and developed over the next three years
in line with examples of best practice, learning and
new evidence from within Scotland, across the UK and
internationally.
"To continue to see success in meeting this priority,
it is crucial that we continue to work together across
national and local agencies including NHS HealthScotlandand CoSLA, Scottish Executive Departments, national
and local voluntary organisations, community groups,
community planning partnerships and with people who have
experience of mental health problems and their
carers."
Commenting on the work of the National Programme,
Margaret Wells, Director of Partnership Development,
NHS Lothian, added:
"The Programme offers us a great opportunity to
address not only greater awareness of mental health
problems with health care professionals in Lothian, but
a real chance to address the wider aspects of mental
health and well being within communities."
Resources, such as the Action Plan, will be made
available on a new website also launched by the Deputy
Minister today. wellontheweb is the central e-library
for the National Programme and will host documents,
strategies, research, and articles associated with and
supported by the National Programme and key links to
other web based resources.
Launching the Action Plan and website, the Deputy
Minister highlighted today's training session inEdinburghfor Mental Health First Aid which is to be piloted
inScotlandby the National Programme. The pilot is a first
forScotlandand theUKand will draw on a pioneering programme developed by
theAustralianNationalUniversity's Centre for Mental Health Research. The training
for health, agency and voluntary sector workers is part of
the Mental Health Literacy Project, which will help in
taking forward work for one of the four key aims of the
National Programme, raising awareness of the need for good
mental health and well-being.
Gregor Henderson, Director of the National
Programme said:
"Improving public understanding of positive
mental health and awareness of mental health and mental
illness is essential to enable people to take care of
their own mental health, to help others, to prevent
mental ill-health and to be more aware of where and how
to access support and help."
Mari Todd, Health Promotion Specialist, NHS
Shetland, who undertook the training earlier this year
in advance of the pilot said:
"Mental Health First Aid is a welcome new
approach and it will assist people living in the
islands to become more aware of the most common mental
health problems.
"In Shetland, both professional health staff and
the community in general are keen to learn about mental
health problems: how to prevent mental health problems
worsening, how to promote recovery and how to provide
comfort to a person suffering from a mental health
problem. Raising awareness of mental health across the
community is a way of reducing some of the stigma and
discrimination, and those who take part in the course
gain an increased ability to recognise a developing
mental health problem, what to do to help and how to
signpost people."
Alongside the piloting of Mental Health awareness
training, the development of the National Mental Health
Literacy Project will include preparing consumer guides on
common mental health problems and the development of self
help skills, techniques, tools and manuals to help
people to recognise common mental health problems. A
Project Group will be established this Autumn to take this
work forward over the next three years.
£24 million funding of the National Programme for
Improving Mental Health and Well-Being is from the
Health Improvement Fund announced in September
2002.
The National Programme for Improving Mental
Health and Well-Being was announced in October 2001. A
National Advisory Group, chaired by Health Ministers,
advises and steers the work of the National
Programme.
The Mental Health First Aid pilot forScotlandbegins inEdinburghon 8 September. More than 20 participants from the
NHS, Local authorities, agencies and voluntary sector will
undertake 2 day basic training and 3 day instructor
training in the course being run by the pioneer of the
training, Betty Kitchener, between 8 and 12
September.
The newly trained Instructors will form a key part of
the pilot MHFA training inScotlandbetween October 2003 and March 2004. Working with
these instructors inScotland, the course and the materials will be evaluated by
the National Programme with a view to assessing potential
ways of adapting the training course acrossScotlandfrom summer 2004 onwards.